Afridi requests countrymen to wait for their loss against India before burning his effigies

Kolkata: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has requested his countrymen who are upset with him to wait till their customary World Cup loss against India before burning his effigies.

An Afridi effigy in his trademark style

Earlier this week, Shahid Afridi upset many fellow Pakistanis by saying that he receives more love in India than in Pakistan. Even Pakistan legends like Javed Miandad have not taken this comment kindly. Shahid Afridi has also been served a legal notice by a Lahore lawyer for his statement.

Speaking to the press after a practice session at the Eden Gardens, Afridi said, “I know I upset some of my countrymen by saying that we received more love in India than in Pakistan but I just want to request them to hold this anger for a few days. Losing to India in a World Cup and then watching our effigies burn is a long standing tradition of Pakistan cricket and I want them to keep the effigies in storage till then. What will they do after our loss on the 19th if they take out all their anger right now?”

“I am worried that if they go through the effigy burning ceremony now then they might start stoning our houses to vent out after the loss against India. Thanks to social media, that practice had been discontinued as people stick to throwing abuses online instead of throwing stones but you never know, our fans are more unpredictable than my batting”, Afridi added.

When asked why he praised India so much, Afridi replied, “I was just trying to be a nice neighbor and said some things in formality but I didn’t know this will cause so much anger against me. They didn’t praise me to the skies after I said Indians are small hearted in 2011 so why the anger now?”

Meanwhile, Sony, Samsung and LG showrooms across Pakistan have stocked their warehouses with brand new TVs expecting huge orders after fans smash their TV sets on the night of the 19th.